Method and apparatus for cleaning



July 4 1933- J. w. CHAMBERLIN 1,917,096

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CLEANING A File'doct. 24, i952 5 sheets-sheet 1v a .El

July 4, 1933. v J. w. CHAMBERLIN 1,917,096

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CLEANING Filed Oct. 24, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 2A; INVENTCJ'R..

- EY W7 AIT? July 4, 1933. J. w. CHAMBERLIN 1,917,096

METHOD .AND APPARATUS FOR CLEANING y Filed Oct. 24, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet3 .INVENTDE July 4, 1933- J. w. CHAMBERLIN IETHOD APPARATUS FORVCLEANING' Filed 0G12. 24, -1932 4 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 'INYEN-ras.. 'M/@MWPatented July 4, 1933 1,917,095

A'UNrri-:D sTATEsPATaNr, oFF-luca'v I JonN w. or AKRON, omo

mamon ANnArrmTUsro-.a CLEANING i vAfzplieation led October 24, 1932.Serial No. 689,291.

I The present inventionrelates to a methodv decrease in eiiiciency ofoperation. A numand apparatus suitable for cleaning, deber of attemptshave been made to use carbon greasing or the like, of various materialstetrachloride as a cleaning vfluid due to its which may be .of animal,vegetable, f or non-inlammability. However, numerous.

5 mineral origin. The system involved is comdiiliculties have beset thisprocedure a'nd one 55 m`only referred to in the sense of dry cleanof themost serious of these diiiiculties has in'g. While the presentapplication deals been due to theinherent tendency 'of carbon generallylwith' such systems, it is directed tetrachloride to hydrolizein thepresence of in its specific phases at the iuid circulating water and/ormoisture to form free acid- 1 system and particularly at the treatmentor. which attacks and deteriorates the articles be- 0 purication ofsoiled cleaning fluid coming' ing cleaned and moreover corrodes metalbutfrom the Washing step, f tons, buckles', hooks and eyes, etc., aswell'as` The common practice now in use for dry the commercial metalsthat are commonly cleaning clothing or theA like is to use a used in drycleaning apparatus. These diiinaphtha, gasoline, or vbenzine solution toculties, with whichI am thoroughly familiar 65 which h'as been added adry cleaning l soap from long contact with the problem, clearly solubletherein. The clothing is placed in showed me that in spite of theextensive the washing machine in contact with this efforts that had beenmade in the past to desolution and the machine is then started and visesimpler systems that could be used :2 the washing 'continued for fifteenor twenty `ecoliomically without sacrificing cleaning ei- 70 minutes,followin which the clothing is re-A t ciency, such eorts, generallyspeaking, had moved and Itranserredto a separate washnotattained thedesired end. With this in v ing machine where it is'washedin'clear gasomind, I have carried out an extensiveseries line or benzine. lAfter'jthebulk of the soap of tests and experiments which .have new re- 75 25 hasbeen washed out ofthe clothing by means. suited in myfdiscovery of asystem which is of the clear solvent, the clothing-is transverysimple tooperate, occupies avery small erred tofa centrifugal A,extractor wherefrom floor space, does not require skilled or semi- 80 to 90% of thecleaning iuid is thrown skilled operators, eliminates re hazard,and

Dif. The clothing is next. placed -in a condoesa high class dry cleaningjob economi- 80 ventional deodori'zer where the remaining cally,rapidly, and eiiiciently.

cleaning uid evaporates and is withdrawn Accordingly among the objectsof the pres from the clothing. This system involves two ent invention isthe provision of a new methhandlings of the clothing while wet with odand combination of apparatus suitable cleaning fluid, and one handlingwhen the for the economic and eicient dry cleaning '5 bulk of thecleaning fluid has been removed of articles such as clothing. Anotheroband the clothing is on the way to the dief 'ject is to provide anapparatus which is odorizer. This system as well as all other simple,easily operated, and does notvoccupy systemsV now in commercial use fordoing a an excessive amount of floor space. ,Another good grade ofcleaning involves theY use of object is tov provide a systemforcontinuousequipment that occupies a large iioor space, ly purifying,reclaiming, and decolorizing is relatively dangerous, particularly whenin-v the cleaning fluid. Another object is to profl'ammable cleaningfluids are used, and has vide avcontinuous flow system whereindirtinnumerable valves and connections to opand soil removed from .thearticles being erate, and moreover requires atthe very least cleaned arecontinuously removed from the semi-.skilled labor' to do the work. Many-atcleaning fluid .and the so-purilied uid retempts have been madel toproduce systems turned to'the washing machine. Another that have a lowerinitial cost and are simpler object is to provide a system whereinanonto operate. Nevertheless, so faras I am inflammable cleaningluidcan'be used withaware, these efforts havein general 'niet with out thedrawbacks which have been hereto- 1w y failure or else have resultedvinfila marked ,'OI'e encountered by the art. Further objects andadvantages will appear as the de `scri tion proceeds.

o the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention,then,.con sists of the steps and means hereinafter fully described andparticularly pointed out inthe claims, the annexed drawings and thefollowing description setting forth in detail 'certain means and modesof carrying out the l1nvent1on, such dlsclosed means and modesillustrating, however, but several of the various ways in which theprinciple of the invention may be'used.

In said annexed drawings Fig. 1 is a front elevational View showing mycleaning machine construction as the same appears when the several unitsare assembled in straight alignment with relation to each other. It willbe understood that upon certain occasions conditions may ariserelativeto ioor space where the various-units entering into the generallassembly of ,the

cleaning machine may be such as to limit-"the y 'floor space to such adegree that straight line assembly would be impossible. lVhere suchconditions are encountered. the various units may 'be 'positioned-atright angles to each other.

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevational View as the` same would appearwith-the front. of the variouscabinets removed, the position of thecleaning member with respect tothe liquid within-the tub while operatingto cleanse fabrics being shown in full lines and the raised or dryingposition of the cleaning member being shown in dotted lines, withcertain parts of the cleaning member broken awav to show the impellerslocatedv therein.

' The various liquid conduits and their connections with the severalreceptacles located within the cabinets are shown in full lines, thedirection of fiow through the conduits being indicated by the arrowsappearing thereon. The position of the exhaust fan with relationto thefloor and connecting ducts between the cabinets is shown in full lines.the division of the suction set up by .i the fan being regulated by thefloor of the cleaning' position being indicated by dotted l lines. t

The position of theexhaust fan with respect to the exhaust pipe is shownin full lines, certain portions. being broken away in o rder toshow theexhaust pipe and the di- 'rectionof air currents, which are indicated bythev arrows.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional elevation of the cleaning unit, as thesame would appear if taken onV line 4 4 of Fig. 2, and particularlyshowing theliquid circulating pump and conduits connected therewith, thedirection of flow of the liquid within the conduits being indicated bythe arrows shown thereon.-

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view, showing the liquiddistributor head which is located Within the tub (shown in Figs. 2, 3and 4, and taken on line 5 5 looking in the direction of the arrows inFig. 2

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of the liquid distributor head,showing the angu.

larit-y of outlet openings, taken on the line (3.-"6 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a detailed perspective view Ishowing the siphon outlet conduitwithin the tub and the air opening which automatically.

fluid 2, in the washing machine veither by y raising the cleaning fluidinto Contact with the druln or by lowering the drum into the cleaningfluid. For most purposes, I prefer to do the latter. The drum l with itscharge of soiled clothing or like articles is accordingly lowered by asuitable mechanism 3 (Fig. 4) into contact with the cleaning fluid inthe washing machine as it shown by heavy lines in Fig. 2. The washermechanism is then started to rotate the drum in a back and forthdirection as shown by double arrow on Fig. 2, thus forcing the cleaningfluid back and forth through the clothing. The cleaning fluid containingthe soil and dirt removed from the clothing is continuously withdrawnfrom the Washing machine through a. vented level maintaining draw offpipe 4 and passed through a body of sweetener and dehydrator 5,theneethrough a body of soap 6 that is substantially insoluble in the cleaningHuid. The cleaning fluid is then passed through a filter mass 7 forremoving lint, suspended dirt, and moisture, and thence through a bed ofdecolorizing and clarifying. material 8 to a storage receptacle 9 fromwhence the cleaning fluid isrcontinuously returned to the wasliin`machine in cyclic manner. After the Vcfot ing or like articles havebeen washed for a suiiiclent period of time to remove the dir t and soiltherefrom, the washing machine drum is removed from the cleaning fluidin the'washing machine either by dropping the bottom of the washingmachine containing the-cleaning liiuid or preferably b yelevating lthewashing machine drum to the position uniform manner over the innerperipheral.

surface of the drum. At this time the drum is speeded up to extractingspeed and allowed to run for a period of time normally .rangingfrom'five to fifteen minutes depending upon the kind and amountgof goodsin:

the drumas well. as' the speed of rotation thereof. The drum is thenstopped andthe substantially '.dry clothing removed therefrom. and hungin the deodorizing cabinet 10 which is ventilated by means of a fan 11,as is shqwnfinfigs. 2 and 3. The specific construction and operation ofmy improved washing and drying machine is set forth in my co-pendingapplication filed October 24, 1932, Ser. No. 639,290.

The operation of my lmproved cleaning and purifying system for the drycleaning fluid used therein is as follows Motor 12' (Fig. 4)` is startedand by means of a suitable driving connection 13 operates pump 14, theinlet 15 of which is connected to vent- `ed overflow pipef4 in thewashing machine 16. Valve 17 (Fig. 2) at the outlet from storage tank-9is opened sufficiently to per- 'mit the desired flow through the system.

Valve 17 is the only valve to adjust in op eratin my improved system ascontrasted with t e* multitude of valves used in all other systems:mWith valve 17 opened, purified cleaning fluid flows through sightglass18as shown by the arrows to a lperforated out-- let pipe 19 in .the lowerportionof washing machine`16. The ventedoverflow and level maintainingpipe 4 in the washing machine 16 which is connected to pumpv 14withdraws cleaning luidfrom the washer 16 in proportion to the amountthat is fed theretothrough spreader pipe 19.v The cleaning fluidwithdrawn from the washing machine passes through .pump 14 and isdischarged therefrom into passageway 20 in which is mounteda sight glass21- and a check valve 22. The flow of dry cleaning fluid throughpassageway 2O empties into the top-.of receptacle 23 where it isbroughtimmediately into contact with a body of sweetening and dehydrajzinag-e'nt (Fig. 3) which is of a 'lower speci c gravity than the cleaniniiuid itself," The preferred cleaning flui is a mixture of carbontetrachloride and pro-- pylene chloride, with or without ethylenevchloride. Carbon tetrachloride alone, a mixture of carbon tetrachlorideand ethylene chloride, tetrachlorethylene, perclorethylene,trichlorethylene, or the like, may be used in equivalent manner. Thepreferred material to use, however, is one that is non-inflammable.

A number o`f these non-iniammable, high speciic gravity dry cleaningiluids are on the market, and can be used satisfactorily in my presentimproved system.

The sweetening or dehydrating agent 5 usedv in the upper portion 1ofreceptacle 23, is an alkali and preferably an aqueous alkali. Thealkali, when in suitable form for use, has a specific gravity that issubstantially less than that of thedry cleaning fluid. Among thematerials'that can be satisfac- 'torily used in an aqueousl solution forthe` purpose at hand are the following, soda ash,

caustic soda, caustic potash, or mixtures of these, as well ascommercial preparations known under the names of Wyandotte sol- Vventclarifier, and Huron alkali. Directly below' the body ofnswe'etenerand/or dehydrator 5, I use a somewhat shallower layer or body of Pa soapthat is insoluble or substantially insoluble in aqueous alkaline soluytions as well as in the dry :leaning fluid. This soap layer must have aspecific gravity that is between that of the sweetener and /ordehydrator, and the dry cleaning fluid. This will make it stay in aposition between these two iuids as is shown in Fig. 3.V As suitablesoaps usable for this purpose, the potassium and/or sodium salts ofoleic, palmetic,

or stearic acids may be used.. I find that a preferred way to establishthis soap layer 1s t0 make a mixture, for instance, of from 80% to-60%of potassium oleate with from 20% lto 40% of oleic acid.A 'While theoleic acid is soluble in the dry cleaning iuid, this is not aV seriousdrawback since in passing through the system it 'contacts with theVsweetener and/or dehydrator 5 in the top of the receptacle 23 where itisl convertd into a suitable soap, for instance, if the sweetenerconsists of soda ash or caustic soda, then v sodium oleate is formed'which joins the potassium olea-te present in the soap bed 6.' Thissoapbed in a sense 'acts as a filter in that it collects dirt, lint, ,f'etc., out of the cleaning fluid passing thiiough the system.

As an aid' to the clarifying and decolorizing of the dry cleaning fluid,finely divided acti# -vated carbon .can be added to the soap bed,-

and hen this is done, I find that .it is of a distlnct advantageparticularly when exceptionally dirty' articles are being, cleaned.;

The dry cleaning Huid entering into the top of receptacle 231s.sweetened `and/or dehydratd in the aqueous chemical body 5 in the topithereof. The dry cleaning fluid then lpasses downwardly through thesoap bed where a further purification of same takes place. Directlybelow the soap bed, I prefer to have a relatively extended body of drycleaning fluid to permit stratification to take place so that the dryIcleaning fluid removed i from the bottom thereof will be substantiallyfree from entrained soap or the like. At a point near the bottom ofreceptacle 23, I provide an outlet 24 controlled by 4valve 25 throughwhich the so-preliminarily cleaned dry cleaning l'luid is passed bymeans of connection 26 to the bottom of receptacle 27 In case it isdesired to empty the washing machine into an external receiver, it isonly necessary to open -valves 32 and 37, and transfer the cleaningliquid to said external receiver through connection 36. C,

Suflicicnt makeup dry cleaning fluid can be added to the system,particularly to compen/ where it passes upward through a screen 28 intoa body of waste 7 or the like which acts y to absorb moisture and tofilter out thev bulk of lint and suspended dirt that has succeeded inpassing through the soap bed 6. Directly above the cotton waste 7 isplaced la bed of either above, below, or admixedwith the decolorizinglmaterial. Over the bed of clarifying and decolorizing material, (andsolid sweetening material if used), I prefer to place a second bed ofcotton waste or the like 29 which acts to absorb moisture and to filterout fine suspended particles of solid matter.

lThe dry cleaning fluid then passes through sate for that lost byevaporation or carried away by the clothing removed from the washer,by'pouring such additional cleaning fluid into the washeritself or ifdesired valves 17 and 35 may be closed and a hose or the like connectedto inlet 36, and valve 37 opened. v

'lhe free end of the hose connected to 36 is then placed in a drum orother supply of dry cleaning fluid and sufficient pumped therefrom tomeet the requirements of the system.

After the system has been in operation for f a period of t1me, normallyseveral days, the soap bed 6 will gradually become thick and somewhatslow acting an'd will have to be at least partially replaced to maintainthe eiliciency of the' cleaning system.- To remove the soap solutionvalve 38 which is directly,

screen 30 tol passageway 31 through which it is delivered to the top ofstorage tank 9 in purified cendition ready for returning to washer 16 byway of valve 17, sight glass 18, and distributor pipe 19. i

When it is desired to drain all of the dry cleaning fluid from washer16, and deliver it to storage tank 9, valve 17 on the bottom ofstoragetank 9 is closed and valve 32 communicating with the bottom of thewasher as shown in Fig. 4, is opened. The operation of pump 14 will thenremove the 4dry cleaning Iiluid from washer 16 and pass it through thecleaning steps hereinbefore `'describd and deliver it into storage tank9 breather opening when the liquid level raises to the overflow point.

opposite the soap layer is opened and the soap is withdrawn (if desired,the sweetener and dehydrator body can be removed at the same time).established (also dehydrator and sweetener) by connecting on to valve 38with a suitable hose or funnel like connection arranged for receivingthel filling material at a level above the top of receptacle 23. As soonas the filling is completedvalve 38 can be closed and A new soap bed canbe then.

the excess material contained in the hose or funne'ifdralned out. Insome instances, 1t

may be desirable to fil-1 receptacle 23 with the requisite amountof soapand/or sweetener and dehydrator through the breather conr,nection 33 orthe like, and this can be readily accomplished by removing the breatherconnection and pouring in the requisite amount of material followingvwhich the breather connection can be replaced. Q

The filtering and clarifying agents con-iv tained in receptacle? 27 -maybe removed land -replaced with fresh material as desired by removingcover 39 which is held tightly in place bymeans of hand wheel 40 orvother equivalent means.

Referring to F1g. 8 which is a scenographic view' of the fluidcirculatory system, the operation of my improved cleaning fluidreclaiming system vis as 'follows Pump 14a is started up and valve 17aopened, vented pipe la then acts ,to maintain the level of the dry.cleaning fluid in theviwashern at a constant height. The fluid iowsthrough connection 4a, valve 35a and connecting pipes to pump 14a fromwhence the 'dry cleaning fluid is dee liveredv by means of connection20a, sight glass 21a, and check valve 22a, into the top of receptacle23a where it is sweetened, dehydrated and treated with a soap solution.The

so-purijied dry cleaning iuid passes out of receptacle 23a by means ofconnection 24a near the bottom thereof andthence by means of valve 25aand connection 26a to the bottom of receiver 27a where the fluid isfurther filtered and treated with a decolorizing agent following whichit passes through conduitv 31a into the top of storage tank 9a. Fromstorage tank 9a, the clean fluid returns to the 10 washing machine bymeans of valve 17a,sight glass 18a, and delivery pipe 19a, thuscompletig the circuit through the machine.

Other modes of lapplying the principle of my invention may be employedinstead of those explained, change being made as regards the means andthe steps lherein disclosed, provided those stated by any of theffllowing claims or their equivalentibe em- P Oye I thereforeparticularly point out and distinctlv claim as my invention v 1.reclaiming mechanism adapted to reclaim a solvent of high specificgravity which y has been contaminated by a washing of fabsaidcontainerbelow said liquid alkaline material for removing insoluble foreignmatter from the solvent as it passes downwardly therethrough, and aconsiderable volume of the reconditioned solvent in the lower portion ofsaid container and extending from the botl tomthereof to the layer ofliquid viscous powashing machine, .comprismg, sweetening said solventand removing greases therefrom by introducing the contaminated solventfrom above into a volume of liquid alkaline material and allowing saidsolvent to pass downwardly therethrough, treating the partiallyreclaimed solvent to remove insoluble foreign matter therefrom byermittin said solvent to pass downwardly t rough alliquid viscous ricsin a washing machine, which gompriseggporous layer ositioned beneath andsupporta container having a contaminated solvent inlet at its top and areclaimed solvent outlet at its bottom, said container having in itsupper portion a volume of liquid alkaline material into which the usedsolvent is introduced through said inlet so as to pass there- -claim asolvent o .high specific gravity which through in a downward directionfor removmg soluble greases from the solvent, a comparatively smallvolume of liquid igiscous orous material beneath said liquid alkali orremoving insoluble foreign 'matterom the solvent as it passes downwardlytherethrough, and a considerable volume of solvent from which the abovementioned foreign 40 matter has been removed in said container andextending from the bottom thereof to the llqptid viscous porous materialwhich it sup- PO s Q reclaiming mechanism adapted to reclaim asubstantially fireproof solvent of high specific gravity which has beencontamlnated by a washing'of fabrics in a washing machine, whichcomprises a container having a contaminated solvent inlet at its top andapreclaimed solvent outlet at its bottom, said contamer having at itstop a volume of lq'- uid alkallne material of lighter specific gravltythan the solvent and into which said solvent 1sintroduced so as to passdownwardly therethrough for sweetening said solvent, a layer of liquldviscous porous material within in said alka ine material and having aspeci c gravity eater than said alkaline material and less t an saidsolvent, and into a considerable volume of reclaimed solvent whichsupports said viscous porous layer.

4. A' reclaimin mechanism adapted to rehas been contaminated 'by awashing of fabrics in a washing machine, which comprises a containerhaving a contaminated solvent inlet at its top and a reclaimed solventoutlet at its bottom, said container having in its upper portion avolume of `a liquid caustic soda solution into which the used solvent isintroduced through said inlet so as to pass therethrough in a downwarddirection for removing soluble greases from -the solvent, acomparatively small volume of viscous porous soap mixture of 60-80%potassium oleate and 20-40% of oleic acid beneath said caustic sodasolution for removing insoluble foreign matter from the solvent as itpasses downwardly therethrough, and a considerable volume of solventfrom which the above mentioned foreign matter has been removed in saidcontainer and extending from the bottom thereof to the viscous poroussoap mixture which it su ports.

igned this 19th day of September 1932.

JOHN w. cHAMBERLm f

